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Castillo, Martinez Make Day Two at NCAAs

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March 17, 2016

NEW YORK â€" Boise State sophomore Geordan Martinez and redshirt senior Chris Castillo each advanced to the second day of competition at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships in front of a sellout crowd of 17,805 at Madison Square Garden, Thursday.

Each went 1-1, and will be wrestling in the second round of the wrestle-back Friday morning.

Martinez, the tournament's No. 12 seed at 149 pounds, won his opening-round match, picking up a pair of takedowns in the final minute of the third period. He added a point for riding time to advance with an 8-3 decision over Lehigh's Laike Gardner.

His second-round match came against the No. 5 seed, Alec Pantaleo of Michigan. Martinez entered the match having won 18-straight, his last loss coming Dec. 5, 2015, at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational â€" to Pantaleo.

Martinez dropped the rematch (8-3), falling to the consolation bracket where he will face Oregon State's Joey Delgado. Martinez, who has lost just six times during his second collegiate campaign (29-6), defeated Delgado 7-3 earlier this season in the Broncos' dual in Corvallis, Ore.

Castillo, unseeded at 157, dropped his opening match (5-4) to Markus Scheidel of Columbia. Leading 4-3 in the final period, Castillo was called for an illegal trip. The penalty point, coupled with an escape for Scheidel, dropped Castillo to the consolation bracket where he would face Robert Henderson of North Carolina.

Castillo picked up a 6-2 decision over Henderson, registering his first-career victory at the NCAA Championships and his 20th win of the season (20-11). In his second-round consolation match, Castillo will square off against Thomas Gantt of North Carolina State, who was seeded No. 2 entering the tournament.

The second day of the NCAA Championships is scheduled to begin Friday at 9 a.m. MT, with quarterfinal matches on the inside four mats, and wrestle-back second and third rounds on the outside four. Complete coverage is available at ESPN3.

With both Castillo and Martinez having lost a match, the best finish for each is third place. Each will need to win their next three matches to earn All-America honors.